British tourist dies in Grand Canyon skydiving accident

(newser) –
Another Grand Canyon tragedy: Authorities say a British tourist died in a parachuting accident near the canyon on Sunday morning. Police say 55-year-old Christopher Swales was fatally injured after he and his parachute partner, an instructor at a local parachute center, "encountered difficulties" during a tandem jump, reports the BBC. The problem occurred as they approached their landing area near the Grand Canyon Airport, police say. "These difficulties caused the couple to fall freely over an unknown distance and hit the ground in what is described as a 'hard landing,'" the Coconino County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

The parachute instructor broke his leg in the accident, authorities say. Police say there were no signs of foul play. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the accident. "The FAA's parachute parachuting investigations usually look at whether parachutes were properly packed by appropriate persons and, when it occurs during a tandem jump, whether the instructor had the necessary experience and references," spokesman Ian Gregor told the Arizona Republic . The FAA planned the descent route after the company, Paragon Skydiving, opened its first parachute jump in the area in 201